Johnson County first in nation to welcome driverless cars

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Johnson County on Thursday became the first jurisdiction in the nation to encourage autonomous vehicle testing as a public safety and economic development initiative.

The Johnson County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a proclamation that would welcome companies to use the area as a primary location for testing driverless car operations.

"When you consider what's already available, such as hands-free parking, this technology is utterly amazing," Supervisor Janelle Rettig said in a news release. "I'm excited that Johnson County can be on the forefront of testing, innovation, and safety, providing jobs and opportunities for our citizens."

Local economic development leaders and University of Iowa researchers have been rolling out the welcome mat for the tech companies and automakers at the forefront of that driverless-car race with the hopes of attracting engineering teams and testing efforts to the Iowa City area.

They say the presence of a major research university, which houses the National Advanced Driving Simulator, along with Iowa's open spaces and a cluster of local companies with an interest in such technology, makes Johnson County the ideal testing grounds for computer-driven cars.

"We're trying to raise awareness that Iowa is open for business, and that specifically in our area around Iowa City, we have a lot of technical know-how," said Mark Nolte, president of the Iowa City Area Development Group, last week.

Nolte was in San Francisco last week for the Autonomous Vehicles Symposium, courting companies like Google that he says are in need of roadways to hone their emerging vehicle technology.

"The feedback we've gotten from Google and other companies is that they need the mileage, they need the road time to perfect these systems, so the first state that lets them come in and gives them the road time is where they'll go," Nolte said.

According to the news release, ICAD Group will continue to meet with companies and organizations from the Automated Vehicle Symposium and is working to establish dates with local city councils for future proclamations.